November 12, 2009 by admin ·
In a recent article I talked about Google AdSense placement based on eye-tracking research. However, research by The Poynter Institute, Eye tools and the Estlow Center for Journalism and New Media has a lot to say about more than where to put an AdSense block.
Designing an eCommerce site is more than making it pretty. You have certain desired actions you’re looking for from your visitors. You have specific things you want to be sure they see and hopefully act on. Now, there’s some research that can guide your design. Certainly you want your site to look professional, but you want it to do its job as effectively as possible too.
People are surprisingly alike in some of their basic visual behavior. It’s been argued that our evolution as hunter-gatherers has shaped much of our ingrained visual patterns. Whether you buy that particular argument or not there are still important commonalities.
Typical behavior on initially viewing a site is to do a fast scan of the entire visible screen with short focusing periods around the areas that attract attention. First pass tends to include headlines, the page logo, photo captions, subheads, links and menu items. And the big hot spot is the upper left corner of the screen. I haven’t seen any definitive research on whether these patterns also hold for users with native languages that read any way except left to right, but I’m assuming most of you are building sites for left-to-right readers.
The clear message is that your most important real estate is in that upper left area and that the lower right (particularly if it’s below the fold) is the least likely to receive much attention.
How you use your words in a headline, paragraph or link can make a huge difference in your success at capturing a visitor’s attention. The concept is called frontloading. Wherever you can make sure your critical terms appear at the very beginning of headlines, links and other text. It’s still got to make sense, but the first few words are far more likely to be at least scanned then the middle or end of a headline or link or the inside of a paragraph.
The exact same words can have drastically different capture rates depending on their order. You want to maximize the probability that the visitor will read a whole headline or link and then act on it. So put the most significant, enticing words first – the ones that are the best grabbers and convey the subject immediately.
You don’t have a lot of time to mess about. It’s been reported that a typical surfer may be off your page in well under 14 seconds unless something grabs his or her attention fast. Remember the upper-left? You want to do an especially good job with headlines, link and text in that area.
Dropcaps (where the first capitalized letter in a line is in a different, often unusual, font and extends below the normal text base-line), bolding, font changes and color changes can also serve as strong eye-attractors. If you try these techniques you need to be careful that you don’t overuse them (your page will look like a mess), and it’s extremely important that you test whether or not they’re actually doing what you want. Annoying as it may be, running tests is the only way to make sure it’s an improvement.
Do you use lists? Have you made sure that they’re in-line and as close to the left margin as possible? Don’t ever use an outline format with multiple indents. People scan down, not across and they tend to scan close to the left margin. Indent too much and it might as well be invisible.
An interesting testing result that I read somewhere said that somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of site visitors don’t even see centered headlines. Sure they look nice and a lot of sites use them, but if they’re totally missed by even 3 percent of your visitors, you’re paying a major price to look good. Suggestion? Put those headlines up against your left margin.
This also applies to links. Put those links up against the left margin, not inside a paragraph, centered or off to the right. And if you want any clicks on a link, never put it in that nearly unseen lower right area. Might as well just leave it off your page.
How about indented paragraphs? Now there’s a great way to start an argument. Some argue that it attracts the eye, it’s different, few sites use it so you stand out. Others insist that you’re far better off staying left justified and frontloading each paragraph. There’s only one way to resolve it for yourself, yeah, run some tests and see what works with your visitors on your site.
The bottom line is that once you get beyond the basics of placement, frontloading, and left-justified links and headlines, you need to test if you want to fully maximize the effectiveness of your website design. I wish there were a simpler answer too, but in the end only testing will tell you what works best for your site
In a recent article I talked about Google AdSense placement based on eye-tracking research. However, research by The Poynter Institute, Eye tools and the Estlow Center for Journalism and New Media has a lot to say about more than where to put an AdSense block.
Filed under links, running, simple, tool, tools, website · Tagged with attention, Don, hunter gatherers, journalism and new media, link, page, photo captions, poynter institute, research, site
November 5, 2009 by admin ·
Get the Best Student Loan Consolidation that will help you get the lowest rate and the Best Student Loan Consolidation monthly payment possible for your individual situation. Some of the Best Student Loan Consolidation programs have sustain many students that are graduating, and some who have already graduated from college. The best student loan consolidation has helped those students that carried a considerable financial burden in repaying student loans. Not to mention other responsibilities such as rent, car notes, or even a family, all of these things can definitely become very overwhelming. If the best student loan consolidations will lift financial burdens for you then go for it.
Examining options that could help relieve financial burdens is always a good idea. College Student can use a number of sources in securing the best student loan consolidation. One bank may not customarily provide an entire 4-year loan or even a 1-year loan. Typically, it takes numerous funds from different lenders to support a student through college. By the way you don’t have to be in a financial crisis in order to be eligible for a private or even one of the governments best student loan consolidation.
You could be considering the best student loan consolidation simply because it’s smart money management. The Best Student Loan Consolidation Loan should provide you everything you need in a loan that fits you. You’ll acquire one new loan that will pay off your many existing loans. In other words at the end of the month, you’ll get one bill instead of lots of lots of them. One check, it’s that simple. The Best Loan Consolidation can be a very opportune concept. Besides the simplicity of paying with one single check, there are many other very good reasons that you should take into consideration. Like, when the best student loan consolidation rate is lower than the average rate of interest than other loans.
How do you feel about the ending with a lower monthly payment? What happens if the lending institution offers some of the best student loan consolidation incentives than what you pay now, such discounts or last month free? Borrowers who consolidate sometimes to keep from defaulting on existing loans for students. If a student consolidates early they can avoid a bad mark on your credit report. Even the best student loan consolidation program can offer you low monthly payments, but it does not necessarily mean that you go to save money.
In the long run it could, in fact the opposite. To a small monthly payment to the length of re-payment would probably have to be given expanded. Your loan application due date would be 30 years instead of 10 years. The longer your payment, the higher the cost of your loan. Remember, some lenders may apply for low interest best student loan consolidation, but they can not be an indulgence.
Even though you may not think you need it at first, it is better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have. Provisions are helpful in situations when you need financial relief. A good student loan consolidation program, you can relieve money and your monthly financial burden. Note, however, the best student loan consolidation is the one that fit especially for you, because your situation is not the same as the next borrower. Whatever you do, business. There are a number of sites on the Web that help you compare, the best student loan consolidation programs. You should find that banks list their prices, and the regulations. The tools and information are here to help you make an informed decision to use it.
Author: Vernosha Anderson
October 29, 2009 by admin ·
A free SharePoint hosting site, Employee Self-Service Benefits Site, is usually included with SharePoint hosting plans for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 hosting. Such SharePoint hosting site templates capture common functionalities, roles, and requirements of specific business processes or sets of tasks in groups and organizations. They can be applied to common business tasks, such as managing a help desk, organizing employee activities, or setting up a discussion group, or in invoice management, to easily creating useful web-based applications. You can get basic Microsoft SharePoint hosting for under $9 per month for unlimited users and with that package forty free SharePoint hosting templates for business that were developed by Microsoft.
The Employee Self-Service Benefits template for SharePoint hosting site comes with tools that can help an organization to inform its employees about available benefits. Employees can be enroll for available benefits using this free SharePoint hosting template.
The SharePoint hosting templates are usually instantly available and free when one signs up for a basic SharePoint hosting plan. One can select SharePoint hosting site and workspace templates when setting up a new hosted SharePoint site via the Create page. The default templates that are included with SharePoint WSS 3.0 hosting are arranged under two tabs in the Template Section area of the new SharePoint Site. The SharePoint hosting templates can be modified and saved under a different name. Thus, useful hosted SharePoint applications for your organization are instantly available.
Filed under benefit, develop, host, hosting, tool, tools, using · Tagged with business, business tasks, Employee, employee self service, microsoft sharepoint, SharePoint, site, template, template section
October 24, 2009 by admin ·
Technological developments have pushed investors to consider the virtual world as a great place to start a business. Websites and blogs are the materialization of our every need. Content management and blog marketing are the online services that can offer the guarantee of a constant flow in your accounts.
For all those that have decided that computers are not harmful, but, quite the opposite, they can represent a powerful source of income, there is great news. The time you used to spend trying to come up with attractive and well-structured texts for your website or blog is now history. Content management is an online tool that can do all that for you. Its main purpose is to keep your site or blog up-to-date with the necessary improvements, and the texts well written.
According to the domain or subject that your site is based on, you must be aware that there are certain keywords that make it easily traceable. Content management is all about this. Using those keywords gradually, but regularly, when creating certain articles or pieces of advertisements, will make a big difference. These will not only help the users come into contact more easily with the site or blog, but it will also help them select from the information they need.
The entire process is not at all complicated. Content management does not involve software modifications nor does it necessitate other system interventions. This does not need downloading or installing various software packages. Specialists in blog marketing are going to take control over your own blog and make sure that it meets your expectations. You must be satisfied when it comes to what you earn or gain by exploiting a web site or blog.
Virtual markets are perfect opportunities for people (entrepreneurs, in particular) to start a thing on their own. Unfortunately, along the way, many realize that they did not take into consideration all the aspects that come with the responsibility. For example, on the Web, being up to date is crucial. This is when you can count on services like content management and blog marketing to have everything in order.
A smart entrepreneur knows that quality services and quality information are extremely important. This is the first step towards earning the trust of the public. Nevertheless, this is not all. Having a flawless text to complete the imagistic and aesthetic part could be the recipe for success. In this manner, your blog or website will enter the registers of search engines and will be easier to trace, because the texts are going to benefit from writing based on an unlimited number of keywords.
The keywords are comparable to milestones on the map of the site or of the blog. Content management is about making all the arrangements in order for you to worry less about composing attractive pieces of writing that match perfectly the profile of the web site or the blog. After all this has taken place, you could take into consideration the general perception of the public of your business/product/service. You can easily increase your income by soliciting and accepting recommendations from the specialists in blog marketing and using their personalized packages. Use these resources: they are tools designed specifically to help you promote your enterprise.
Filed under benefit, list, marketing, news, software, tool, tools · Tagged with blog, Content, history content, management, marketing, necessary improvements, site, software modifications, virtual markets
October 19, 2009 by admin ·
Will I run my business successfully? Do I have the respect of my colleagues? What impression do I make on my clients? The self doubt that plagues entrepreneurs is as onerous a burden as the expectations that they have to live up to. Indeed, one feeds off the other. Building self confidence is extra important for entrepreneurs, who have very little other than their own resources to fall back on. So, how do you bring about that transformation in yourself, and how do you sustain it? These are some of the key questions we?re trying to answer.
Self confidence is simply an external manifestation of your perception of self worth. If you have faith in your abilities, it shows. Building self confidence will not only improve your outlook about yourself, you will also feel more positive about the world around you. Confident people make better entrepreneurs ? since they have an unshakeable faith that they can put things right, they are willing to risk being wrong at times. And that?s what entrepreneurship is all about, isn?t it?
If you?ve looked wistfully at all those beautiful, successful people who radiate an aura of confidence, despair not! Building self confidence is very much a ?learnable? process; our guess is that most of those people you admire have gone down that road earlier. Here are some pointers.
Set goals. You can?t go about building self confidence in a vacuum, that?s for sure. Try to define what confidence means to you; be as specific as possible, even assign a measure to it. For example, do you lack the confidence to make an impromptu speech in public, or handling a troublemaking employee? Putting your finger on it is half the battle won. Now, you can set specific performance goals and measure your achievement against them. As your performance improves, self confidence will soar.
Just chill. You may find this hard to swallow, but staying cool and unfrazzled is the first rung on the self confidence ladder. If you don?t let a sticky situation get on top of you, you?re already learning to handle uncertainty! Once you make your peace with that, you?ll be able to deal much better with any adverse consequences.
Don?t beat yourself blue. Modesty may be all the rage, but self criticism is another ball game altogether ? one that you are destined to lose! Don?t be harder on yourself than necessary and stay objective at all times. It?s much more productive to recognize your mistakes for what they were, learn from them and move on.
Forget the rest? the biggest impediment to building self confidence is to be dogged by worries of what the world thinks of you. We hate to disillusion you, but most of the time, other people are not thinking about you ? they are so busy thinking of themselves. And you know something, your lack self confidence is a lot less apparent to others than it is to yourself!
Recall the good. Even the most self assured people have their off days. When you?re feeling particularly low, make an effort to snap out of it. Think of things that gave you pleasure, like a game you won, or a business goal that you achieved. We?re not saying you have to rest on your laurels, but sometimes remembering past achievements will give you the self belief to tackle future ones.
Finally, base your self worth on realistic expectations, respect your abilities and persevere tirelessly. Building self confidence is a deliberate process, and experts at www.trans4mind.com or www.mindtools.com can help your initiation. You?ll feature on other people?s admiration lists in no time!
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